Archive for the 'Nick Rhodes' Tag Under 'Soundcheck' Category

August 12th, 2012, 2:10 pm by GEORGE A. PAUL, FOR THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

Saturday night Duran Duran's Simon Le Bon sang about wild boys, but the band's electrifying concert at Pacific Amphitheatre was all about the wild girls.

Female fans squealed with delight every time the frontman moved across both sides of the stage or a close-up of heartthrob bassist John Taylor graced projection screens. (Read our interview with him here.) Some even waved hand-drawn signs and stuffed toys from the OC Fair's midway in time to the music. Others were decked out in totally '80s DayGlo fashion.

Home Sweet Home, the fair's 2012 theme, could easily apply to Duran's return to Southern California, always among the group's strongest markets in America (Taylor is also a longtime resident). Indeed, reserved seating in Costa Mesa sold out soon after the show went on sale months ago, and the lawn section – opened up only for a handful of the most popular shows this season – was quite full.

Attendance had to have exceeded 10,000. Before start time, the merchandise booth did brisk business while enthusiasts scrambled to get their hands on as many items as possible.

August 8th, 2012, 2:30 pm by GEORGE A. PAUL, FOR THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

Maintaining longevity in the music business takes sheer determination. Duran Duran, the English group that came to prominence amid the early '80s New Wave era, is a prime example.

Thanks to a sharp mélange of pop, rock and funk sounds, pioneering music videos and a stylish visual image, the Birmingham quintet achieved international success and chart dominance with its initial three platinum-selling records: Duran Duran (1981), Rio (1982) and Seven and the Ragged Tiger (1983).

Various lineups – singer Simon Le Bon and founding keyboardist Nick Rhodes have always steered the musical ship – and fluctuating album sales marked the next decade and a half. Yet Duran Duran stayed innovative: “Medazzaland” was the first song to be sold in a download format across the Internet in 1997.

By the turn of the century, bassist John Taylor, drummer Roger Taylor and guitarist Andy Taylor returned to the fold, with a Pacific Amphitheatre gig serving as the original Fab Five's official U.S. reunion tour kickoff in July 2003. The dance pop-leaning Astronaut was unveiled the following year.

September 28th, 2011, 12:40 pm by GEORGE A. PAUL, FOR THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

When Duran Duran appeared on the third day of Coachella in April, the band turned in a tight, transcendent performance that proved all the cynics wrong (you know, the ones who sniped about them belonging on a festival bill alongside Arcade Fire, the Black Keys, the Strokes, PJ Harvey and so forth). Even bassist John Taylor (above, left) later cited the gig as a career highlight.

But a month later frontman Simon Le Bon (right) lost his voice during a show in Cannes, and the group's summer European tour had to be scuttled while doctors determined the problem. He went through vocal therapy, learned better techniques and posture – and Duran Duran's North American tour of large venues got underway last week, arriving Tuesday night at Nokia Theatre.

The band's 13th studio effort – All You Need Is Now, produced by Mark Ronson – is among the British synth-pop vets' sharpest and best-received albums to date. Ronson, the innovator known for his work with the late Amy Winehouse as well as soul-steeped revamps of the Smiths and Dylan, among others, sought a return to Duran Duran's avant-garde spirit of the early '80s.

He definitely succeeded. The title track went to No. 1 on the iTunes singles chart in 15 countries last December, followed by the digital and eventual physical CD release of Now. Why it hasn't sold like gangbusters is baffling. Maybe the coming music video for “Girl Panic!” – helmed by award-winning director Jonas Akerlund (known for Lady Gaga, U2 and Madonna clips) and featuring former supermodels Naomi Campbell, Cindy Crawford, Helena Christensen and Yasmin Le Bon – will help refocus the spotlight on the group.

In Los Angeles, the original four members – including keyboardist Nick Rhodes and drummer Roger Taylor, along with guitarist Dom Brown and three auxiliary musicians – packed Nokia, delivering an impressive 100-minute set filled with a generous dose of mostly upbeat hits, a stellar chunk from the new album and a couple surprises.

March 24th, 2011, 2:00 pm by GEORGE A. PAUL, FOR THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

After three decades together, Duran Duran still causes hysteria. On Wednesday night, it happened at the Mayan Theatre in downtown Los Angeles, where the influential synth-pop group performed a special show in conjunction with the American Express concert series Unstaged. Once doors opened, anxious fans waiting at the front of the line since morning aggressively pushed each other to get inside and secure a prime viewing spot.

The live webcast was directed by filmmaker David Lynch, who added various images to the online visual presentation. Before the sold-out, 100-minute performance began, he encouraged people to dance beside a funhouse mirror specifically geared for the cyberspace audience -- but asked them not to hog the spotlight. (Click here to watch highlights.)

Duran Duran put out the physical, expanded CD version of its latest studio effort All You Need Is Now on Tuesday -- it came out digitally in December -- so this L.A. gig, one of two nearby small-venue appearances (the other is April 14 at the Fox Theater in Pomona) before the band's Coachella debut on April 17, also served as an album release party.

Ronson envisioned All You Need Is Now as the imaginary follow up to Duran Duran's 1982 multiplatinum classic Rio, encouraging the veteran musicians to use vintage instruments whenever possible and update the distinctive new wave sound they helped craft. Wise move: the consensus has been positive among critics (a rare occurrence) and the public (the new disc currently ranks No. 3 on Amazon).